Note: The Chinese emperors had four names. Ming, the personal or birth name which was never used directly or in reference to the emperor. Miaohao the temple name that

was used postumosly. Shihao the posthumos name often combined with the temple name; and Niaohao - the era name. The emperor was always known by his era name, and refered to even after his death (except in earlier dynasties which used the temple name). The era name started as the emperor's own motto and could be changed semi-regually during the reign. The Ming dynasty emperors discontinued this practice and only one name was used for the entire reign. The Qing dynasty emperors followed the Manchu convention of not using one's personal and family name together, which was in complete contravention of Chinese tradition and considered a taboo when referring to the emperor.

Note: The Republic of China (1912-1949) was an unstable era where the central

government did not excercise full authority over the country. During the revolution

of 1911 the local warlords had seized control over the provinces where they were

based and ruled independently of the central government in Nanjing. In 1915

the former Qing statesman and warlord, Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor

of the Empire of China with the intention of starting his own ruling dynasty, however

this proclamation was soon rescinded due to overwhelming domestic opposition and a lack of foreign support. The accession rites planned for 01 January 1916 were never carried out, leading most historians to dismiss Yuan's 'empire' as an insignificant event.

In July 1917 a Qing loyalist warlord - Zhang Xun (1854-1923), captured Beijing and briefly made an attempt at restoring the imperial system. The 'Manchu restoration' was quickly quashed by government troops and was largly symbolic. The imperial household continued to maintain the imperial system withing the Forbiden City

until they were expelled by another warlord Feng Yuxiang (1882-1948) in 1924. Though the Kuomintang eventually succeded in passifying the various warlords, the republic never managed to establish absolute authority over China and continued to be faced by internal rebellions and foreign agression; culminating with Japanese invasion in 1937. After 1945 the Kuomintang gradually lost control over the mainland to the Communist insurgencey that had raged since the 1920s. The republican government relocated to the island of Taiwan in December 1949 where it has remained ever since, continuing to claim sovereignty over the mainland. The republic continued to hold China's U.N seat until 1971 and maintained U.S recognition as the legitimate government of China until 1979.